Roberts bought Inspiration
in 1999, three years after she launched, and took her on a three-month
cruise before an extensive refit in which her entire top deck was basically
removed and reconfigured, adding, among other things, the hot tub and
a stylish new mast. At the same time, the interior received new fabrics
and the aft guest staterooms received queen-size beds. These kinds of
upgrades always sit well in the charter market, which Inspiration entered
in 2000 (she’s in New England each summer, the Caribbean each winter).
Her successful reputation is in part due to Roberts’ understanding
of how wear and tear affects popular charter boats and his continual investment
in Inspiration’s upkeep. As a matter of fact, Inspiration
had just undergone a comparatively minor refit a few months before my
visit that included, among other things, new vanities, marble countertops,
and wallpaper for all heads.

But of course, with
any charter, the boat is just the beginning. Service is just as important
as amenities, and was just as good aboard this yacht. One afternoon at
anchor, I decided it was time to cool off in the Caribbean Sea, so I returned
to my cabin for bathing trunks. There, lying on my bed, I found the nightly
dinner menu prepared for my review: medallions of duck over port-infused
prunes, filet mignon, a sculpted potato, mushroom flan, and baby zucchini,
topped off by crème brûlée. Dinner also included some
superb pinot noir, port from the yacht’s wine room, and specially
designed place settings (which changed each night).

Some of us wanted to
work off the great food by doing a little power shopping on the island,
but the crew shamed us into spending our last morning in a more active
way: playing with Inspiration’s toys. At anchor on the south
side near Gouverneur Beach, we availed ourselves of her two SeaDoos, boiling
up some water and reveling in the refreshing spray, then touring the nearby
beach in her 16-foot RIB.

Later, as we dried off,
one of the crew asked if we’d yet tried out the weight room. Looking
at each other in disbelief, we asked ourselves, how did we miss that?
Everyone felt a little guilty but in the end agreed that Inspiration was
just too comfortable a home away from home to double as a gym.

As a compromise, we
all retired to the hot tub to talk about exercise.